House fire suspicious

The cause of an early Tuesday morning house fire in Pratt is under investigation.

Gale Rose

The cause of an early Tuesday morning house fire in Pratt is under investigation by the Pratt Police Department.

Fire crews were called to 512 West Fifth around 3:40 a.m. and found an entry door on the east side of the house on fire. Firefighters had the fire under control in about 15 minutes but were on scene for about two hours, said Pratt Fire Chief David Kramer.

The fire was contained to the door entrance area but there was a lot of smoke throughout the house. Kramer said the fire was of suspicious origin and the cause was under investigation.

The house is divided into apartments and the fire was on the ground level on the east side. When firefighters arrived, they were told people were still inside the structure so firefighters had to get the residents out.

No one was injured in the fire but firefighters and some residents took some rehabilitation on site because of smoke.

Estimated damage was $5,000 but it could have been a lot worse, Kramer said.